Correspondence
by akiarashi0822
Summary: Charlie finds two boys in muggle London and decides to take them in while he's training to be a dragon handler.
1. Chapter 1

**Help Me Bill**

Author: Aki Arashi

Notes: AU after Ron turns 7-ish

Warnings: Hints of abuse and abandonment, sometimes more than hints.

Key: :this: means that it's been struck-out, but is still legible

mid October

Bill,

It's Charlie, look... :I found:... I've gained a couple of boys that're about Ron's age. One came up to me and asked if I could hide him out for a few days at the very least. The other... :I want to go to their house and rip:... Ummm... I found him huddled up in an alley in muggle London, cuddled in a very threadbare blanket with a very bedraggled teddy. Apparently his guardians abandoned him. Could you... come over and give a second opinion? Neither is being very trustworthy of anyone but me, but they're willing to try out my family as long as they're not adult-adults. The kids' words, I've translated it to anyone that's not much older or younger than me. Haven't included names in case this gets intercepted, you'll see what I'm talking about when you get here. Don't tell mum yet either, I want to tell her myself. Thanks, hopefully see you soon.

Love,

Charlie

PS: one of 'em's standing over my shoulder, says "hi"


	2. Chapter 2 and 3

**What the Heck, Charlie**

Author: Aki Arashi

Notes: AU after Ron turns 7-ish

Warnings: Hints of abuse and abandonment, sometimes more than hints. Mild cursing in this chapter.

Key: :This: strike-out

mid to late October

Charlie,

First off, don't get me wrong, I'll help, but WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WERE YOU THINKING?! You're NINETEEN, I'm TWENTY-ONE! Why do you think WE'LL be better influences than actual ADULTS?! Okay, I can see it for the one you found, but the one that ran away better have a bloody good reason for thinking my little brother is a better caretaker than his parents. Not anything against you, but you're still in training as a dragon-master and probably don't have that much to spare for comforts and all. Bloody hell, Charlie, I just got out of training for curse-breaking and still have a couple of years at least of applied apprenticeship... Just... Yeah, I'll come over, just let me know the time by floo, and we can figure out times and all. Tell the kids 'hi' back.

Love you, but you occasionally drive me crazy,

Bill

part 3

**Bill's Journal**

Journal of Billius Weasley and the goings on within the immediate family thereof,

Charlie has begun taking care of two boys that appear to be around Ron's age. I'm not going to put their names down yet, partly due to the fact that Charlie had a very valid worry as to someone else reading either the letters or this and going looking for the boys. Neither wish to go back to their parental figures anytime soon, and I particularly cannot blame them. Even with Charlie's youth, he'll make a better father figure than the others that had been taking care of them.

I can see why my younger brother had a desire to go to the abandoned boy's house to kick the arses of the caregivers when he first heard what happened. He had bruises and sprained bones in places that were covered by the ill-fitting clothing he was wearing. Obviously the man who did this knew better than to have the bruises and cuts/scars show, but what was covered was... disheartening. I personally am amazed that the boy didn't run away before he was abandoned, though it sounds like they threatened him if he did try.

There was evidence of older wounds, mostly in the form of scars, but a broken bone in his arm, well it healed mostly correct but it's like the last bit of healing went awry, and he doesn't have as much lifting power in that one. Luckily, it's not his dominant hand, but we may have to get a Healer to rebreak it and let it heal correctly. He has a couple of bitemarks, likely from the cousin he was talking about, but he gave as good as he got with those. Even if it got him punished.

He's thin, he's had just enough to keep him healthy, but not enough for a growing boy. And he's had times where the punishments were being kept from food. The kid is also tanned, amazingly enough, though from the rest of the list it wouldn't seem like it. He apparently did a lot of outside chores when it was sunny out, which gave his skin a healthy glow, rather than the pallor he would have had with the rest of the stuff that's happened to him.

The second boy had at the same time a better and worse life than the abandoned one. His family was rich, so he was well off. His parents didn't beat him, or withhold food from him. In fact, on the surface his life was pretty close to perfect. However... his father was very into the Dark Arts, and wanted his son to follow in his footsteps, while his mother (not while in the presence of the father) taught the kid about how America worked, and how he should change Wizarding Britain into something that followed the ideals that that country strove for. So immediately, he was being taught conflicting ideals, and quite honestly, to the boy's child mind, his mother's seemed like the most sensible, and funner than the father's. And he wasn't stupid enough to let his father know because the man would probably use the Dark Arts on him.

Recently, his father changed the training to include the boy practicing the teachings on people that the man had brought to the house. The one that made him run away, were the two little girls that his father wanted him to cast the Imperious and Cruciatus on, because they refused to become little more than slaves to the man. His father eventually killed the girls, but not before the boy saw them being tortured in a horrible manner. He has a house elf that's his, and the little thing is helping Charlie. The elf loves the other boy, and it'll probably be in very little time that he's had enough to eat that will fill him out to something closer to a normal boy's size. I'll give a more coherent listing later of what I saw, but this'll at least keep some things straight for me, and probably unlock anything I've missed or forgotten...


	3. Chapter 4 and 5

part 4

**Hi Mum**

Author: Aki Arashi

Notes: AU after Ron turns 7-ish

early November

Mum,

Oh, geeze. Er... the owl's name is Hermes, he's part of the raise that I got for making it past training relatively unscathed. I apparently need him for working, and he can also be used for family messages. They said having an owl to give relatives information on how you're doing is just as important to have them for business, especially considering my rank of Dragon Handler Apprentice.

I've recently had two boys that are about the same age as Ron claim me for guardian, due to the fact that I'd be a better choice to raise them than their own. They don't trust many beings yet, but Bill, one of the boy's house elf and I are people they know they can trust. And the house elf child's mother, but she's not been contacted because of the father. So, nothing against you, but you can't see them yet.

I do request for Ginny and Ron to come over to give them a couple more kids to play with. I let Bill know he could tell you some of the details, I really don't trust post. Or even floo, and the hurt one gave me some good reasons with times that people came and believed his guardians over him. And the runaway's father has lot's of resources and might like having access to the hurt one.

I'm not leaving them alone yet, and luckily I'm in the paperwork stage of becoming a Dragon Handler Field Apprentice. So I'm able to take them with me, slightly disguised. None of my co-workers blame the kids for sticking with me and have started to befriend them. Myrna is especially taken with them, thinks they're angels, and hopefully by the time I have to go back out to the dragons they'll accept her as one of the alternate caregivers. Also, with Ron's and Gin's visit, I'm hoping that they'll give the boy's more stories of you and get them to see about meeting you and dad.

Love you,

Charlie

part 5

**Ginny Weasley's Super Secret Diary**

Author: Aki Arashi

Pairings: None yet, 'cept Arthur and Molly Weasley

Spoilers: Nothing really, maybe early childhood for Harry in the books later on.

Notes: AU after Ron turns 7-ish

Warnings: Hints of abuse and abandonment, sometimes more than hints.

early November

Dear Diary,

Mum's letting Ron and I go to Charlie's to meet our new nephews. Which... is odd, because Charlie's not married, or even having a girl-friend. And Mum's not really happy that he won't let her see them yet. Fred + George are jeolous, but they get to go to Day-School so I think it's only fair. Bill came by for lunch today, told Ron and I to 'be care-full' because they don't get brothers + sisters + what happens when you see someone for 'days on end' with 'no escape'. I found that odd because wouldn't they have had to deal with each other?

He also took Mum aside and told her some things. She went pale and then REALLY red as Bill went on. She nodded a few times during all the things he said and then he left back to... Af-ri-ka. Mum hasn't gone on about Charlie since. I wonder what he said... Oh! Dinner!

After dinner Mum told us to go to bed and took Daddy into the living room so they could watch the stairs and make sure we weren't peeking. I don't think they know about the hole in the twins' closet. And thank goodness Percy's at Hog-Has-Warts, or we'd pro'lly all be in BIG trouble.

So, Mum told Daddy that one of the boys was hurt real BAD by the people who watched over him before Charlie found him. That he'd had scars and bruises and stuff, some that looked kinda like hands from what Bill said. Big hands, but the person who hurt him hadn't made it... ob-vi-ose that he'd hurt him. All of the marks were where his clothes were. Mum was really mad and ranted about the stupid people who'd hurt one of our new nephews and Daddy tried calming her down. She took a while though.

Then she started in about the other boy's dad and how he tried to get him to badly hurt different people. She was ex-special-lie upset about something that she whispered to Daddy, and we couldn't hear it, but Daddy went pretty pale. She was glad that both boys had Charlie and Bill, even if they weren't ready yet to see her and Daddy... crap. Mum. 'Night.

G I N E R V A


End file.
